A quick, non-exhaustive guide that lists a few bot builds that work on Cataclysm.
 
 

Introduction

This is a quick guide that lists a few bot builds that I have had success with on Cataclysm while playing as the only human participant. I haven’t exhaustively tested different builds on Cataclysm, so there may be many viable bot builds out there that I am unaware of.
 
 
This is not a strategy guide. It’s just about bots. I don’t use break point calculators to min/max my bots. I just play the game and these builds empirically work.
 
 
I use the Bot Improvements – Combat mod:
 
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1395655171 – [steamcommunity.com] 
 
This mod is sanctioned for the official realm and it definitely enhances the performance of bots. I would urge anybody that hasn’t installed this mod to do so.
 
 
The images for the builds were copied from builds I created at:
 
 
https://www.ranalds.gift/ – [ranalds.gift] 
 
 
 

Philosophy

Cataclysm can be rather unkind to players and bots alike. When designing a team you will need a good mixture of crowd control, elite killing, special sniping and boss slaying. The human player should play a cla*s that excels in two of these areas and be adequate in the others. The most important attribute for a bot is survivability – if they are dead then they are of no use to you at all.
 
 
 

Bot Builds

Whatever cla*s a player selects for themselves will restrict what bots are available for their team. There are 5 bot builds that I normally play with on Cataclysm (without grimoires so no curse resistance):
 
 
 

Ironbreaker

 
 
Click on image to enlarge.
 
 

 
 

 
 
View build at Ran*ld’s Gift:
 
https://www.ranalds.gift/build/6MnssvfNjhqqoz8iszbr/view – [ranalds.gift] 
 
 
– This bot is almost unbreakable. He rarely gets downed so doesn’t often need healing; therefore, he is equipped with Natural Bond so that he doesn’t consume health pots, which leaves more healing for the weaker bots.
 
 
– When you get swarmed by a pack of plague monks or berzerkers or run into a patrol the ironbreaker’s ult will give you 15 seconds of relief to thin out their numbers in safety.
 
 
– Ironbreaker is the best bot in the game. Always take him if you are not playing Bardin.
 
 
– The Drake Fire Pistols are equipped so that you don’t have to worry about telling the bot to reload with ammo. If you want more long distance sniping capability, equip a handgun.
 
 
 

Mercenary

 
Click image to enlarge.
 
 

 
 

 
 
View build at Ran*ld’s Gift:
 
https://www.ranalds.gift/build/aFprMAYZpqN0bxIVYqMD/view – [ranalds.gift] 
 
 
– The mercenary’s primary role is to provide THP to the party through his ult, keeping everyone alive.
 
 
– All of the level 30 talents are good, but I use On Your Feet so that a downed bot or player that cannot be reached quickly because of a dense horde can be revived easily. For this talent to be useful, Kruber must still be alive, so he is equipped with a shield as it gives him more resilience than other weapons.
 
 
– Because the damage output of the sword & shield is limited, I increase the mercenary bot’s power by selecting The More the Merrier and Reikland Reaper talents.
 
 
– The handgun is equipped because bots rarely use their ranged attack on most weapons, so ammo isn’t normally an issue and handgun is the highest damage ranged weapon that Kruber has access to. I don’t know how often bots get ranged headshots, so I’m no sure if Conservative Shooter is the best trait to pick.
 
 
 

Unchained

 
Click image to enlarge.
 
 

 
 

 
 
View build at Ran*ld’s Gift:
 
https://www.ranalds.gift/build/gGhwCaw1m8DlQOTlfHys/view – [ranalds.gift] 
 
 
– The unchained bot is a tank that can provide some good long distance sniping support when equipped with a Bolt Staff. The flail makes her more effective than other bots against shielded enemies.
 
 
– Her main weakness is exploding from accumulating too much overcharge, which can be prevented by taking the Abandon talent and picking the Barkskin trait on her necklace to prevent her from exploding due to poison gas.
 
 
– If you have Mercenary in the party for THP generation, the Wildfire talent can be selected at level 30 to create a more offensive unchained bot.
 
 
 

Sister of the Thorns

 
Click image to enlarge.
 
 

 
 

 
View build at Ran*ld’s Gift:
 
https://www.ranalds.gift/build/KSw7rD2hDwDr6tjLh8ZX/view – [ranalds.gift] 
 
 
– The Sister of the Thorns bot is the most fragile of the bots that I use on Cataclysm. However, she is excellent at special killing and at dealing damage to bosses. This is mainly done with her ult, so taking Incandescence and Bloodrazor Thicket is a must. If you are playing either a Slayer with 2 melee weapons or a Grail Knight then a Sister of the Thorns bot is worth her weight in gold for her special killing contributions.
 
 
– I equip moonfire bow because it is good and has limitless ammo, so I don’t need to micromanage the bot. The javelin seems to be bugged as the bot never reloads after the javelins have been thrown.
 
 
 

Witch Hunter Captain

 
Click image to enlarge.
 
 

 
 

 
View build at Ran*ld’s Gift:
 
https://www.ranalds.gift/build/GzjeI1OlK6q0zWHihaTH/view – [ranalds.gift] 
 
 
– The Witch Hunter Captain bot is a good addition to the team for the crowd control ability of his ult and the a*sociated increase in crit chance plus the increased 20% damage to tagged elites. However, he is not very robust – avoid having both a Sister of the Thorns and Witch Hunter Captain bot in the same team as together they will be too fragile in the absence of tanks.
 
 
– A typical player build with the rapier would focus on headshoting enemies. With bots it’s unclear how often they head shot, so bot talents are less focused on this – hence the selection of Walking Judgement and Flense.
 
 
 

Quick Tips

If you are playing Cataclysm with bots you don’t need general tips about gameplay strategies; however, if you are unfamiliar with bots they have some quirks. The biggest of these is the way they prioritize bosses and mostly ignore the surrounding hordes. This can quickly result in disaster if the player is also focused on killing the boss. If a boss spawns during a horde then the player should focus on protecting the bots from the mob and any specials and let the bots deal with the boss until the horde has abated. In these situations, incendiary bombs are your best friend – always pick them up before anti-armour bombs.
 
 
Always be tagging – this is completely anecdotal but I believe that bots react more quickly to specials that have been tagged.
 
 
Bots often get caught up on geography. When this occurs, even if they are hanging off a ledge, just push forward and once you get far enough away from them they will teleport to you.
 
 
 

Conclusion

With enough skill and a little luck these bots are good enough to get a player through any map on Cataclysm difficulty. Praise Sigmar!
 
 

 
 
This is all we can share for Cataclysm Bots: a few builds that work [Patch 4.4.2.1] – Warhammer: Vermintide 2 for today. I hope you enjoy the guide! If you have anything to add to this guide or we forget something please let us know via comment! We check each comment! Don’t forget to check SteamClue.com for MORE!